The compounding of polish compositions for use in automotive. furniture and marine applications among others, is well established as a highly unpredictable "black art." Such formulations are available in liquid semi-solid or solid form and they are often complex mixtures which generally comprise several components selected from such items as waxes. solvents, thickeners emulsifiers. abrasive agents and polydimethylsiloxane oils, inter alia. Each of these ingredients is believed to impart certain desirable properties to the final polish composition. For example, a wax acts as a film former and is responsible for the high gloss achieved after buffing; a mild abrasive aids in the removal of weathered paint and previously applied polish residue and various organic solvents thickeners and emulsifiers enhance the application of the final polish formulation and provide stability thereto.
Recently, it has been discovered that various silicone oils, such as polydimethylsiloxane are advantageously incorporated into automotive polish formulations and are considered instrumental in imparting the highly prized characteristic of good rub-out The term "rub-out" as used herein refers to the ease with which the polish composition can be spread upon a surface to be treated allowed to dry and subsequently rubbed to a non-streaked condition. It has further been found that when the polydimethylsiloxane oils contain amine functionality, the durability of the polish is enhanced Examples of polish compositions which contain such silicone oils these compositions being illustrative of the art, may be found in the disclosures of U.S Pat. Nos. 3,393,078, 3.508.933, 3,576,779, 3,836,371, 3,890,271, 3,960,575 and 4,013,475. Yet another silicone-containing polish composition is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,250 to Kasprzak wherein the improvement resides in the inclusion of a cyclodimethylsiloxane fluid a polydiorganosiloxane-polyoxyalkylene copolymer and water.
As alluded to above, the rub-out performance of a polish is an important practical consideration. It is particularly critical when a large surface area such as a car body is to be polished since any reduction in the usually considerable time and physical effort required for buffing is greatly welcomed by the consumer. It is therefore not surprising that considerable attention in the polish art has focused on the attainment of improved rub-out.